Saturday afternoon at BC Place, the Vancouver Whitecaps rolled over visiting Toronto FC by a final score of 4-0. For a home side who’s play in front of their supporters had been a mixed bag to start the season, it was a resplendent outing. Vancouver has now won their last two in front of home support, each match against a traditional rival. Those victories have vaulted the team to first place in the Western Conference, while they also move to the top of the overall league table in terms of points percentage.

Certainly, it is worth controlling one’s enthusiasm so early in the campaign. However, one must give huge credit to the Whitecaps for upholding their promise to get off to a better start in 2024. Given that there are still some evident areas for improvement within the squad, what Vanni Sartini’s side has been able to pull off to start the year is mightily impressive. Now, we will just have to see if they can keep it going over the next two weeks, against the LA Galaxy and the Seattle Sounders.

Ok, on to the player ratings we go from the match against Toronto FC:

Yohei Takaoka – 8.5

The Japanese keeper was really sharp in this one. He made two critical saves on Deandre Kerr in the first half which prevented TFC from finding any life in the match. The second of those saves was a tremendous effort with an outstretched left arm to deny Kerr 1v1, though it would have be nice to see either Ranko or Takaoka take charge of that moment rather than allowing the ball to reach Kerr in the first place after a heavy back pass. Nonetheless, Yohei was there when his team needed him, capping off his night by preserving the clean sheet with a trailing leg save, 1v1 once again, in stoppage time. That moment may have been the nicest save I’ve seen him make in a Whitecaps shirt.

Mathias Laborda – 7.5

It was an up and down outing for the Uruguayan, who was caught in space on a few occasions, but also had a number of really nice defensive moments 1v1 against TFC’s wide threats, including Federico Bernardeschi. I thought Laborda was particularly sharp later on in the second half.

Ranko Veselinovic – 7.5

As mentioned, there was a moment or two of adventure between himself and Takaoka at the back, but otherwise Ranko was very good. In particular, Ranko was a key part of breaking TFC’s first line of defensive pressure with his passing, opening up space for the Whitecaps to get forward effectively.

Bjorn Inge Utvik – 7.0

A solid debut for the Norwegian. He was probably a little less involved than the other two CB’s in the buildup, but that’s understandable given his newness to the side. He did his job defending in a couple of tricky 1v1 spots, and you can see why the Whitecaps rate his aerial ability. It looked like he was labouring a bit in the second half, so hopefully all is good with him physically.

Andres Cubas – 8.5

Cubas the menace. He was absolutely terrorizing TFC’s midfield in the first half, and only slowed down slightly after being handed a yellow card caution early in the second half. I’ve also found that Cubas has really upped his game in terms of distribution recently. Sure, he gets an assist for the clearance which sprung Ryan Gauld, but more than that, it’s been his ability to spark transition chances from normal buildup play that has really stood out. He seems to be looking for that incisive ball more and more this year, and I’ve been enjoying watching it.

Pedro Vite – 6.5

It’s a bit odd that in a stretch of two straight home wins, Vite, for whatever reason, has been a bit off his game. Honestly, if you look at the stat sheet, he seems to be playing decently (4/5 ground duels won, 4/4 long balls, 86% passing). However, there’s been a number of moments where Vite in top form would make a better pass, or control the ball at his feet in a way we are just not seeing right now. The failed back pass which almost created a TFC goal is obviously a prime example. I don’t think it’s a problem in the long run, but it would be good to see the young midfielder find his swagger again.

Ali Ahmed – 7.0

Even when it’s not Ahmed’s best night, the young Canadian is still a pleasure to watch. TFC did everything they could to shut down his threat, marking him very tightly on the boundary and forcing Vancouver to play up the opposite side of the pitch. Still, Ali was dangerous whenever he could find some space with the ball at his feet, playing a couple nice passes (1 key pass) and winning a number of fouls (4).

Alessandro Schopf – 9.5

The man has been balling out recently. With less responsibility and defensive organization to worry about, the Austrian has looked like a new player the past couple matches under Vanni Sartini. He was charging forward with confidence in this match, highlighted by a great individual effort to tee up Fafa Picault for Vancouver’s second goal. Equally, Schopf was dogged in the way he tracked back and got under the skin of Toronto’s key players. The simplicity and freedom of this new role really seems to be working for him and I’m here for it, especially with the Whitecaps needing to manage Adekugbe’s minutes.

Ryan Gauld – 8.5

The Scotsman is starting to heat up for Vancouver. He found his second goal of the season on a great individual effort, running 60+ yards before disposing of his shot calmly past Sean Johnson, and did such a great job all match long linking Vancouver’s midfield with Picault and White.

Fafa Picault – 8.0

The off-season addition is off to a red-hot start in Vancouver, now with 3 goals and 2 assists in his first 5 matches for the club in MLS play. What seems obvious about Picault at this point is that he is very good at taking advantage of what’s there to be had. In Nashville, those looks were quite limited, but here in Vancouver, he’s thriving with other dangerous attacking pieces around him. Beyond his goal, Picault also played a role as a creator (with 2 key passes), as well as defensively (with 4 interceptions and 2 tackles).

Brian White – 8.0

First of all, great to see White fit and back in the starting XI. Second, you have to love a striker that can produce something out of nothing with his work off the ball, though I have no idea what Deybi Flores was trying to do on that play, and what a throwback for VWFC supporters that is. Outside his goal, White did his usual job in hold-up play pretty effectively. TFC did not do a great job preventing him for getting involved as a play maker, which is part of what can make this Vancouver team very dangerous – White’s vision with the ball at his feet is sneaky good.

Substitutes – 7.5

Both Raposo and Adekugbe did a really good job keeping the pressure on TFC in the later stages of the match, even with Vancouver up a couple of goals and doing what they could at times to manage the lead. Tristan Blackmon was solid when he came on, with one tackle in particular which stood out, as he completely cleaned out Federico Bernardeschi, which you love to see. Ralph Priso looked pretty nervous in his Whitecaps debut with a couple of pretty loose passes, all of which is understandable, especially against your old team. Levonte Johnson shows flashes every time he sees the pitch, but you’d like to see him translate that positive play into a few more shots on target.

Vanni Sartini – 7.5

Vancouver did a great job getting TFC in positions they weren’t comfortable with, having to open up the game searching for goals, and trying to break down a disciplined back three. Obviously, Vancouver had the upper hand in terms of roster strength in this match, but the Whitecaps still had to go out there and do the job, and to me, it looked as though Sartini put his side in the best position to succeed. I also think the manager deserves credit for the value the team has been able to accrue so far from Fafa Picault and Alessandro Schopf. Getting impact performances out of complementary players is not always something Vancouver found last season, and the tweaks Sartini has made going into 2024 have produced undeniable results so far.

Alright, those were my thoughts on the big win over Toronto, let me know yours in the comments!